More than ever the way the Dakar is developing will it be different things to different people.

If we all take a few minutes and try and think of any complaints that have truly been aired by the riders with respect to other riders and the ASO - there isn't much, even RG didn't day too much last year that was truly bitter, even after the $$$$$$ he spent.

139 motorcycles, 26 quads, 106 cars and 64 trucks made it through the first eight stages to the rest day in Tucumán, representing 74.61% of the vehicles which started in Lima. As expected, the Peruvian sequence was as splendid as it was tough, with its fair share of twists and turns. David Casteu, Marcos Patronelli, Stéphane Peterhansel and Gerard de Rooy lead their respective categories but, looking at the variety of challenges awaiting them over the next few days, the only thing that's certain is that nothing is certain!

Motorcycles: KTM purrs, Yamaha and Husqvarna roar, Honda whimpers!

Halfway through the motorcycle race, one thing's for sure: the 35th edition of the Dakar will be one for the books. First of all because the shadow of the KTMs still looms long, even though their captain and defending champion Cyril Despres has had a tough first week, most importantly due to a gearbox problem during the marathon stage which forced him to change his engine, with the ensuing 15-minute penalty. This means the Frenchman is only fifth in the general classification, 24&#8242;26&#8243; down, and third among the riders of the Austrian manufacturer, which has nevertheless placed six of its motorcycles in the Top 10, with Ruben Faria and Chaleco López on the provisional podium.

But it's a Yamaha that rules the roost! The brand with the tuning forks may have won only one stage to KTM's four, but it's led the race from stage 4, first with Olivier Pain (now 4th) and then with David Casteu, who seemed almost surprised to take the overall lead in Tucumán. A leap forward for the blue band, probably thanks to its organisation in small independent structures, which fosters competition. On the other hand, the other nice surprise of the 2013 Dakar comes from the biggest team of them all: Husqvarna. Although they've still got reliability issues, the sheer speed of the machine and its leader Joan Barreda has been impressive. The Spaniard was the best performer of the first week together with Chaleco, with three specials apiece. Yet in the overall, the Swedish brand's first motorcycle lies twelfth, courtesy of highly consistent Alessandro Botturi. Long faces in the Honda camp, as their great official comeback to the Dakar flops. Although the Japanese brand has three motorcycles in the top 12, the first of them lies only seventh, thanks to the great revelation of the rally: Jeremías Esquerre, a first-time participant who's been extremely consistent so far.

The Chilean is therefore in command of the Rookie challenge, with 16&#8242;06&#8243; on South Africa's Riaan Van Niekerk. As for motorcycles without assistance, Dutchman Hans-Jos Liefhebber holds the reins with his 35th place overall, ahead of Esteban Smith and Hugo Payen. Finally, among the ladies, Laia Sanz lies a strong 29th overall and doesn't have much to fear from Chilean Josefina Gardulski, who's in 132nd place, more than 15 h behind the Catalan.

I can understand completely about trying to focus on your work and resisting fan/paddock people's imposition. If you have limited time and must perform a series of duties, no competitor wants to chat. I think that is fairly universal in motorsports. There are times to chat but the heat of battle in the paddock is not one of them.

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Obviously there is a lot of truth to that, but I think the exceptions are important.

Interestingly I had a very good interview with Frans Verhoefen at the same time, and he was also focussed on the day but gave me the courtesy of a few minutes - totally different and very positive impression.

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Obviously the riders get mobbed everywhere they go in South America. It's a hassle they have to actively manage, and yet the huge enthusiastic fan base is part of what makes it so awesome. There are and should be boundaries to buffer the riders, but the line is unavoidably blurred, and that's often not a bad thing. Gordon called fans over to help him dig out early in the race. Cyril would have been thrilled to have Bluebull there last year to help him out of the mud. I think the length of the race and the fact that regular Joe's are racing with the pros both make that line all the more fuzzy.

I think saying something to Despres was fine, and if Despres didn't want to talk, that's was fine too. Verhoefen and others were willing to talk. Probably many were like you, Ned, and were willing to talk, but had to be less talkative than they otherwise would be.

In terms of interviews, it seems Robby Gordon has trained himself to be open to people talking to him. Someone here posted an interview they had with him at another race. He was very friendly and talkative, but it became obvious that he didn't know who was interviewing him at first. Still, the interviewer got the friendly engagement Gordon gives to Eurosport. Robby proactively tried to highlight the interviewers website for listeners. Of course always being in fan-friendly mode is important to someone like him who is always building a brand, less so for privateers.

More than ever the way the Dakar is developing will it be different things to different people.

If we all take a few minutes and try and think of any complaints that have truly been aired by the riders with respect to other riders and the ASO - there isn't much, even RG didn't day too much last year that was truly bitter, even after the $$$$$$ he spent.

Most of the complaining seems to be on here at time, not over there

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Offcourse it is alot of complaining here as we are not atending the race and we are better that the guys in it...

After the awarding of the 15 minute penalty for changing an engine, at the rest day Cyril Despres sees himself classified in 5th place 2425 minutes behind the leader David Casteu with Cyrils team mate Ruben Faria 2nd at 1116. Chaleco Lopez is third at 1200 while Olivier Pain is fourth at 1610.

Cyril Despres

They call in rest day but it should be called stress day! Since I got up this morning Ive done non-stop interviews. I even did an interview as I was brushing my teeth! Now it is 14h00 and we have just received our road book for tomorrow, so time to shut ourselves away and prepare for the second week. So far weve done 2000 kilometres of special and we have 2300 kilometres left, so clearly there is still everything to play for. And as always on a Dakar it isnt going to be straightforward.

I dont have spies in all the other teams but radio bivouac informs me that the other riders have opted not to use the break to change their engines. It is a calculated risk that will for sure have an impact on all our strategies for the next week. Only time will tell if they have made the right choice or not but two things are for certain: one - its going to be a very interesting few days and two - Im going to be fighting for victory all the way to Santiago."

After the awarding of the 15 minute penalty for changing an engine, at the rest day Cyril Despres sees himself classified in 5th place 2425 minutes behind the leader David Casteu with Cyrils team mate Ruben Faria 2nd at 1116. Chaleco Lopez is third at 1200 while Olivier Pain is fourth at 1610.

Cyril Despres

They call in rest day but it should be called stress day! Since I got up this morning Ive done non-stop interviews. I even did an interview as I was brushing my teeth! Now it is 14h00 and we have just received our road book for tomorrow, so time to shut ourselves away and prepare for the second week. So far weve done 2000 kilometres of special and we have 2300 kilometres left, so clearly there is still everything to play for. And as always on a Dakar it isnt going to be straightforward. I dont have spies in all the other teams but radio bivouac informs me that the other riders have opted not to use the break to change their engines. It is a calculated risk that will for sure have an impact on all our strategies for the next week. Only time will tell if they have made the right choice or not but two things are for certain: one - its going to be a very interesting few days and two - Im going to be fighting for victory all the way to Santiago."